Fifth-year midfielder Braeden Beard has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor after his performance on Wednesday against Bowling Green State University.

In a must win game for the Huskies, Beard assisted both goals in the 2-1 victory. The win secured the No. 5 seed in the MVC and earned NIU a berth to the championship tournament. 

Beard’s first assist came in the 41st minute to sophomore midfielder Angel Rodriguez, who found the goal. His second assist came with only four minutes left in the match to junior forward Taisei Arima, who put the Huskies ahead and sealed the win. 

The assists were Beard’s first of the season and first at NIU. He previously spent the last two seasons playing for Drake University before joining NIU. 

This is the second weekly conference honor of the season for the Huskies, as senior goalkeeper Jakub Rojek was announced as the Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 17th. 

The Huskies will play their first match of the MVC tournament at Bowling Green State University. The teams face off at 5 p.m Sunday at Cochrane Stadium. . The game will be streamed on ESPN+.